VW Sales Are Going to Make EA Stations Even More Unusable

jvincent

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I realize some are happy to charge at home exclusively. My CT4 is going to be used for plenty of road tripping and this rant is for those who plan on doing the same.

Maybe this is just an SF Bay Area thing, but I've been unable to charge my e-tron SUV 3 times recently due to station congestion. Just got back home after finding the Walnut Creek station choked with ID.4's, all units occupied. Finally got a charge at an EA station nearby; first dispenser 48kW, second unit 97kW, third unit (the only one functioning correctly according to Plugshare) occupied by an ID.4. Have experienced this twice before in the last month. Taycan owners get ready, this is going to be a major issue. No one is going to care that you can actually make use of the 350kW dispensers and no one is going to care what you had to spend to get free charging. VW has already way oversubscribed the meager service on offer at Electrify America.

Considering the fact that it takes at least two to three dispensers to find one that works adequately, full EA stations are basically a nightmare. Taycan charging is limited to :30 sessions. Charging an ID.4 or Mustang to 90% can easily take over an hour, no limit. It appears that anything near a suburban area is being used for regular charging by ID.4 owners, blissfully unaware of the battery degradation such charging produces.

If everyone pays, you use what you need, no camping. Free causes abuse.
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fgwinn

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If everyone pays, you use what you need, no camping. Free causes abuse.
New Taycan owner here, have only used EA once so far. I am taking a 300 mile trip up to Vermont in a couple of weeks. After reading your rant I plan to identify non-EA alternatives near the EA stations where I planned to stop in case the EA stations are overcrowded. If your hypothesis is correct, the non-free competing stations should have some vacancies.
 

daveo4EV

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I realize some are happy to charge at home exclusively. My CT4 is going to be used for plenty of road tripping and this rant is for those who plan on doing the same.

Maybe this is just an SF Bay Area thing, but I've been unable to charge my e-tron SUV 3 times recently due to station congestion. Just got back home after finding the Walnut Creek station choked with ID.4's, all units occupied. Finally got a charge at an EA station nearby; first dispenser 48kW, second unit 97kW, third unit (the only one functioning correctly according to Plugshare) occupied by an ID.4. Have experienced this twice before in the last month. Taycan owners get ready, this is going to be a major issue. No one is going to care that you can actually make use of the 350kW dispensers and no one is going to care what you had to spend to get free charging. VW has already way oversubscribed the meager service on offer at Electrify America.

Considering the fact that it takes at least two to three dispensers to find one that works adequately, full EA stations are basically a nightmare. Taycan charging is limited to :30 sessions. Charging an ID.4 or Mustang to 90% can easily take over an hour, no limit. It appears that anything near a suburban area is being used for regular charging by ID.4 owners, blissfully unaware of the battery degradation such charging produces.

If everyone pays, you use what you need, no camping. Free causes abuse.
good thing they dont’ work - people will figure it out and stop going.
 

chenner

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New Taycan owner here, have only used EA once so far. I am taking a 300 mile trip up to Vermont in a couple of weeks. After reading your rant I plan to identify non-EA alternatives near the EA stations where I planned to stop in case the EA stations are overcrowded. If your hypothesis is correct, the non-free competing stations should have some vacancies.
This is less of a problem on the east coast where our gas prices are not as astronomical so you should be fine.
Had my car for a week and charged at EA three times so far in NC and TN. Twice there was only one other car there and the other time I was alone.

Was only able to pull 150kW so far though even on 350 stations but plug and charge worked each time. Takes a couple of minutes for the handshake though.
 

ithinkmac

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Ha. Just the other day, a friend bought an ID.4 - and would go out of their way driving the Bay Area to find a EA station. Don't want to charge at home, and want to take advantage of free charging.

You're right, it's going to be a nightmare. I wonder if it'll be better when you're road-tripping. Since that takes you out of urban areas where it's congested, not sure if most will take their ID.4 road tripping. Maybe we'll start fighting Ioniq 5s or EV 6s on road-trips. :)

-ThinkMac-




I realize some are happy to charge at home exclusively. My CT4 is going to be used for plenty of road tripping and this rant is for those who plan on doing the same.

Maybe this is just an SF Bay Area thing, but I've been unable to charge my e-tron SUV 3 times recently due to station congestion. Just got back home after finding the Walnut Creek station choked with ID.4's, all units occupied. Finally got a charge at an EA station nearby; first dispenser 48kW, second unit 97kW, third unit (the only one functioning correctly according to Plugshare) occupied by an ID.4. Have experienced this twice before in the last month. Taycan owners get ready, this is going to be a major issue. No one is going to care that you can actually make use of the 350kW dispensers and no one is going to care what you had to spend to get free charging. VW has already way oversubscribed the meager service on offer at Electrify America.

Considering the fact that it takes at least two to three dispensers to find one that works adequately, full EA stations are basically a nightmare. Taycan charging is limited to :30 sessions. Charging an ID.4 or Mustang to 90% can easily take over an hour, no limit. It appears that anything near a suburban area is being used for regular charging by ID.4 owners, blissfully unaware of the battery degradation such charging produces.

If everyone pays, you use what you need, no camping. Free causes abuse.
 


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jvincent

jvincent

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You're right, it's going to be a nightmare. I wonder if it'll be better when you're road-tripping. Since that takes you out of urban areas where it's congested, not sure if most will take their ID.4 road tripping. Maybe we'll start fighting Ioniq 5s or EV 6s on road-trips. :)
Yes, it should be better out of the urban areas, but in California, suburban, urban, bedroom communities all meld together in many areas. I imagine this is the case in parts of the East Coast as well.

The other issue here is that home energy costs here are astronomical; EA's cost per kWh is equal to my off peak home rate! For an ID.4 lessee, 30¢ per kWh versus free is a pretty easy choice.
 

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This is less of a problem on the east coast where our gas prices are not as astronomical so you should be fine.
Had my car for a week and charged at EA three times so far in NC and TN. Twice there was only one other car there and the other time I was alone.

Was only able to pull 150kW so far though even on 350 stations but plug and charge worked each time. Takes a couple of minutes for the handshake though.
the crowding at chargers has little to do with fuel costs, it does have to do with the level of EV adaption across the various regions.
the places with the most EVs is where charging can become congested from lack of supply.

Places like CA, FLA, the NE corridor are where there is a far higher number of EVs currently in use than there are in the middle of the country.

crowding at tesla chargers in CA at one point became so acute that tesla actually sent out personnel to direct the waiting lines, then they greatly expanded the number of chargers in many of the most used places.

EA needs to get in front of the coming issue as more VWs, Fords whomever's EVs hit the roads. I've already encountered full chargers with cars waiting to charge and things will only become worse as the numbers of EVs expands and the infrastructure to support those cars does not expand.
 

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Yes, it should be better out of the urban areas, but in California, suburban, urban, bedroom communities all meld together in many areas. I imagine this is the case in parts of the East Coast as well.

The other issue here is that home energy costs here are astronomical; EA's cost per kWh is equal to my off peak home rate! For an ID.4 lessee, 30¢ per kWh versus free is a pretty easy choice.
if you are willing to trade money for time wasted using that 'free' charger
 


RBGtaycan

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New Taycan owner here, have only used EA once so far. I am taking a 300 mile trip up to Vermont in a couple of weeks. After reading your rant I plan to identify non-EA alternatives near the EA stations where I planned to stop in case the EA stations are overcrowded. If your hypothesis is correct, the non-free competing stations should have some vacancies.
In my 8 months of experience, on the East Coast, there are very few FAST chargers other-than-EA....(and EA is free (for Taycans) when it works)...so don't bet the farm on alternatives!
 

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In Colorado we are seeing more and more L3 chargers from other providers (e.g., EVgo and Chargepoint). 18 months ago I was primarily charging at EA. In 2021 it was probably only 30% on EA. EVgo and Chargepoint have been rock solid for me. I cannot think of a failed charge on either of those networks. My hope and expectation is that competition will improve reliability all the way around.
 

RBGtaycan

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In Colorado we are seeing more and more L3 chargers from other providers (e.g., EVgo and Chargepoint). 18 months ago I was primarily charging at EA. In 2021 it was probably only 30% on EA. EVgo and Chargepoint have been rock solid for me. I cannot think of a failed charge on either of those networks. My hope and expectation is that competition will improve reliability all the way around.
I certainly hope that happens...ironically I am planning a trip to Colorado next summer but gotta admit chargers have concerned me...your comments make me feel better about the trip!
 

kmcdonal

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I certainly hope that happens...ironically I am planning a trip to Colorado next summer but gotta admit chargers have concerned me...your comments make me feel better about the trip!
The state of Colorado did a superb job filling out the charging network within the state. They looked at the map and figured out where the gaps were and then they came up with a plan to put chargers in all the key spots. The change in 18 months has been night and day. You don't need chargers every 5 miles, but you do need them anyplace where there is a stretch of 100 to 150 miles with no L3 chargers.

This link gives you a bit of a feel for what they did. Some of the chargers they added in this plan were absolutely key to me.

Hopefully more states start to think this way.
 

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I realize some are happy to charge at home exclusively. My CT4 is going to be used for plenty of road tripping and this rant is for those who plan on doing the same.

Maybe this is just an SF Bay Area thing, but I've been unable to charge my e-tron SUV 3 times recently due to station congestion. Just got back home after finding the Walnut Creek station choked with ID.4's, all units occupied. Finally got a charge at an EA station nearby; first dispenser 48kW, second unit 97kW, third unit (the only one functioning correctly according to Plugshare) occupied by an ID.4. Have experienced this twice before in the last month. Taycan owners get ready, this is going to be a major issue. No one is going to care that you can actually make use of the 350kW dispensers and no one is going to care what you had to spend to get free charging. VW has already way oversubscribed the meager service on offer at Electrify America.

Considering the fact that it takes at least two to three dispensers to find one that works adequately, full EA stations are basically a nightmare. Taycan charging is limited to :30 sessions. Charging an ID.4 or Mustang to 90% can easily take over an hour, no limit. It appears that anything near a suburban area is being used for regular charging by ID.4 owners, blissfully unaware of the battery degradation such charging produces.

If everyone pays, you use what you need, no camping. Free causes abuse.
One of the costs of living in the SF Bay area - overcrowding. Original Tesla owners faced the in same situation once the Model 3/Y came out, but only in areas with tons of them (like SF Bay area, or Seattle area in my case). The only thing you can hope for is that providing EV charging become really profitable, so more charging stations will pop-up, but that won't happen until there are a whole bunch Taycans, Audis, Fords, and VW's. past their 3 years of free charging period.
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